J.D. Power Study Reveals Brands With Fewest Media Tech Problems
While voice recognition remains the top complaint among car owners these days, overall complaints about high-tech audio systems, entertainment, navigation and communication declined for the third year in a row, according to J.D. Power.
Ford, BMW, Kia and Porsche were reported to have the fewest media technology problems, with the Ford Mustang scoring the best of all the top cars in every category.
“In-car multimedia has been a problematic category for automakers for several years, as ever-more elaborate navigation, voice recognition and entertainment systems have proliferated in vehicles of every type," Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive quality practice at J.D. Power said.
Read the article at USA Today.
ARI, SiriusXM Expands Partnership to Canada
ARI just announced a new partnership with SiriusXM Canada, the country’s leading audio entertainment company, to offer the SiriusXM Fleet Program to its clients throughout Canada.
All ARI clients with SiriusXM-equipped vehicles can now provide qualified drivers with the benefits of SiriusXM including a complimentary two-month, introductory subscription as well as discounted subscription rates. Drivers will have access to SiriusXM’s entire range of exclusive content across 130+ channels of commercial-free music, plus sports, entertainment, news, comedy and more.
Tesla ‘Production Hell’ Has Translated to ‘Delivery Hell’
Complaints about Tesla taking people's money while they wait weeks for the cars, often with no firm delivery dates, are all over Twitter, Facebook and the Tesla Motors Club user forum.
Tesla's service issues go beyond delivery glitches. Many of those who have cars complain that repairs can take weeks or months, and email and phone inquiries often don't get returned. A Tesla retail store rep said that big fixes in the delivery system are needed but that employees are reeling from constant change and inconsistent messages from management. "We've grown too fast."
Read the article at MSN Money.
World Expected to Have Over 3.5 Million Charging Stations by 2025
At the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, two electric car charging companies announced plans to build 3.5 million plug-in spots in the U.S. and Europe by 2025 in an effort to accelerate the adoption of clean vehicles.
California-based ChargePoint Inc. will deliver 2.5 million places to charge and EVBox will install 1 million new fast and regular chargers. The new charging stations will support 37 million electric vehicles that are forecast to be on the road globally by 2025, driving a combined 384 billion electric miles.
Read the article at Bloomberg.
CLM: UK Research Identifies AFV ‘Discrepancy Gap’
Research into drivers’ attitudes towards Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) has identified a huge ‘discrepancy gap’ between actual sales and drivers’ stated buying intentions.
The research, carried out by UK fleet management specialist CLM which manages around 15,000 vehicles on behalf of corporate clients, looked at the intentions of 400 drivers when it came to buying or selecting their next car.
